Chris Anthony sports vintage 1940s ski wear and gear for his documentary “Mission Mt. Mangart,” which chronicles the time after the surrender of Germany in May 1945.Chris Anthony / Special to Vail Daily

A cameraman gets footage of Chris Anthony lacing up the vintage leather ski boots before the filming of the re-enactment of the ski race on Mt. Mangart on June 3, 1945.Chris Anthony / Special to Vail Daily

While piecing together information about what happened during the race on Mt. Mangart, Chris Anthony has received help from locals like retired and current members of the Slovenian Mountain Troops.Chris Anthony / Special to Vail Daily

In the wake of this Memorial Day
weekend, as we continue to reflect upon those who lost their lives while
fighting for our freedoms, we’re fortunate to have the resources to
share the stories of the famed 10th Mountain Division. They were the
winter warfare unit that trained for battles in Europe during World War
II just south of Vail at Camp Hale, right here in Colorado’s High
Country.

The Colorado Snowsports Museum
has an entire section of their newly remodeled location dedicated to
sharing the stories of the 10th. Local professional skier and filmmaker,
Chris Anthony is on a quest to keep those stories alive and give us
another look at the men of the 10th.

Anthony is no stranger to telling stories. He’s traveled with the Warren Miller film crew for 27 years skiing the most amazing terrain and sharing that experience with the audience. He also was instrumental in developing “Climb to Glory,” a documentary that plays daily at the Colorado Snowsports Museum about the 10th Mountain Division and the role they played during WWII and how they transformed the U.S. ski industry upon their return.

His travels to Europe and ties to Camp Hale keep bringing Anthony back to his next project: Mission Mount Mangart.

“The story goes that on June 3, 1945 a ski race was held in the former Yugoslavia. It was hosted and organized by the men of the 10th Mountain Division and nowhere in our libraries is this ski race documented, yet they celebrated it over in Slovenia,” Anthony said.

Through much research, many contacts and a
bit of luck, Anthony has been able to learn more details about the time
surrounding this event and has even received help from some key players
in Slovenia. Janez Kavar is a retired brigadier general of the
Slovenian mountain troops and has helped Anthony gather interest from
the natives. Some of them even helped film a few scenes for the upcoming
documentary.

“Old-time locals and
retired mountain troops out of the village of Bovec, Slovenia heard
about my project and not only volunteered to dress up in vintage 1940s
ski clothes and film a few scenes reenacting the race, they also came to
the site where the race was on Mount Mangart the week prior to try to
clear avalanches and rock slides from the road,” Anthony said. “There
were also younger guys sent by NATO. They were current active Slovenian
mountain troops and they helped as well. Everyone has just been so
supportive of this project.”

Anthony’s goal is to have the documentary finished by June of 2020, which will be the 75th anniversary of the event itself.

Germany
had surrendered in May of 1945, but Japan was still fighting in the
Pacific and some of the members of the 10th were sent to help. So how
did they end up in the former Yugoslavia?

“Yugoslavia
decided that they would invade Italy and they had to do it over a
mountain range called the Julian Alps, where Mount Mangart is located,”
Anthony said. “This was a very important strategic location to occupy.
So the 10th Mountain Division received a new set of orders that they
were going to have to march further northeast to push the Yugoslavian
Army back over the Julian Alps and they successfully did it.”

That
successful act called for a celebration, and keep in mind, these
soldiers were young men around the ages of 18, 19, 20, even 17 if they
lied about their age to get into the Army. Plus, they were good skiers,
so why not put on a race?

“That day, 73
guys started the race, 23 finished. The race was won by a
Swiss-American named Walter Prager, he was actually the current world
champion, so it was a legit field,” Anthony said. “Steve Knowlton, a
very famous Aspenite was second. Nobody documented it on film, but there
are photos of it, so my mission is to go over and recreate the race and
bring it back to we can build this story around it” Anthony said.

Anthony
is currently pouring over interviews and footage right now to arrange
all of this information into a documentary that will be used for
educational purposes, like his Youth Initiative Project, whose mission
is to improve quality of life through introducing youth to educational
enrichment opportunities. To follow his progress, provide information
about the event or contribute to this documentary, follow Anthony on his
social media channels or visit ChrisAnthony.com.

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